# Cinema's Greatest One Hit Wonders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057 "2006-02-12T00:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/81 "2006-02-13T07:09:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Nobody from _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ became a real star on film aside from Susan Sarandon, and possibly Tim Curry depending on how you define stardom… And Meat Loaf, of course. (OK, maybe not on film so much, but he had at least a major role in _Fight Club_) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/82 "2006-02-13T07:18:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > What about the dude who played **Peter** in **Office Space**? It’s no Raiders of the Lost Ark but it’s a huge cult hit and I can’t think of anything else big he’s done. > > Since there’s no IMDB…I can’t even think of his name. heh Ron Livingston. Had a big part in Band of Brothers and a reoccuring role in Sex in the City. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/83 "2006-02-13T07:18:32Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Adam West did do a _Batman_ feature film in '66. Oh, I’m very familiar with that thing. I grew up watching it. (I wonder if we’ve still got it on tape?) My thinking was that the show made him famous, and then came the movie. > [@waterj2](#): > > And Meat Loaf, of course. (OK, maybe not on film so much, but he had at least a major role in _Fight Club_) I thought of Meat Loaf as a guy who stayed famous, but not from movies. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/84 "2006-02-13T07:44:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Oh, I’m very familiar with that thing. I grew up watching it. (I wonder if we’ve still got it on tape?) My thinking was that the show made him famous, and then came the movie. Buy the DVD. It’s a hilarious movie – I had no idea as a kid that it was a comedy – and the audio commentary and extras are great. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/85 "2006-02-13T08:12:37Z")
Three words: Cuba Gooding Jr. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/86 "2006-02-13T08:15:43Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Three words: Cuba Gooding Jr. GOOD CALL. He went from “Jerry Maguire” to…what? “Rat Race”? That dog-sledding movie? The one where he’s on the cruise ship? So much talent wasted… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/87 "2006-02-13T08:34:12Z")
**Charmiane Carr** — amazingly won an Oscar for her first (and last) movie role, Liesl in _The Sound of Music_. She even got her own song! She must have seemed poised for stardom. But that was it for her film career. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/88 "2006-02-13T08:57:20Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Teri Hatcher has since gone onto _Desperate Housewives_ fame after _Lois and Clark_, but Dean Cain was pretty much relegated to TV appearances in serial crime shows, as was the main villain (John Shea, playing Lex Luthor). TV doesn’t count per the OP, but on the subject of Dean Cain he hosted a syndicated _Ripley’s Believe It or Not_ show for a number of years and had a pivotal role in the gay romantic comedy _The Broken Hearts Club_, as well as doing some other film work. I thought I saw mention of him in a recurring role on a new show as well. How about the father-daughter team of Joel Grey and Jennifer Grey? I don’t think I saw them mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Joel scored an Oscar for _Cabaret_ and I can’t off-hand think of another film role (although he’s had relatively recent successes in non-counting TV appearances on Buffy, Oz and Alias, as well as originating the role of The Wizard in the also-not-counting Broadway musical Wicked). Jennifer was in the huge _Dirty Dancing_, then got her nose fixed and never did anything significant again. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/89 "2006-02-13T12:11:31Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > **Charmiane Carr** — She even got her own song! She must have seemed poised for stardom. o/` I am sixteen going on obscurity...o/` ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/90 "2006-02-13T13:14:49Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > How about the father-daughter team of Joel Grey and Jennifer Grey? I don’t think I saw them mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Joel scored an Oscar for _Cabaret_ and I can’t off-hand think of another film role. Joel starred in the action movie _Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins_, as the Korean martial arts master, Chun. Much as I loved it, it’s not a quality piece of film, but he was pretty good in it. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/91 "2006-02-13T13:38:15Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > **Virginia Madsen** : Right of the top of my head: Creator, North, Hot Spot, Class {first film}, Dune, Hot To Trot, That horror movie with the evil ghetto ghost and bees and upthread someone mentioned Slam Dance. Not to mention \*Sideways \* **Ione Skye** was also in _Four Rooms_, but it was a supporting role in only one fourth of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/92 "2006-02-13T13:39:39Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Three words: Cuba Gooding Jr. Despite a dozen crappy movies he did do Radio & Pearl Harbor & was Robin William’s dead son? in that strange but visually intense surreal Painting film about the doctor that lost his family. There might be a few more. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/93 "2006-02-13T14:56:36Z")
_What Dreams May Come_- lots of people hated it but I liked it. Tidbit- Jennifer Grey got her nose fixed **during the filming** of _Wind_ with Matthew Modine, without telling anybody she was going to do it. The director was seriously pissed, and apparently couldn’t reshoot enough footage to keep the continuity clean. So she looks like Pinocchio throughout the film (big nose, small nose, big nose, small nose…). Pathetic and unprofessional. No surprise she doesn’t get much quality work anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/94 "2006-02-13T15:21:53Z")
My first thought was “Daryl Hannah.” She once made quite a “Splash,” then became better known for bad movies and her mostly memorable role was her song-and-dance with Jackson Browne and JFK Jr. Linda Lovelace should be mentioned here. :o Jeff Fenholt and Carl Anderson were good in Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was it for both of them. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/95 "2006-02-13T15:27:29Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > I was actually thinking about including \*\*Mark Hamill \*\* in the OP but if sequels can count (and why shouldn’t they?) he’s not exactly a ONE-hit wonder but more of a one-CHARACTER-wonder. He does actually have three films to his resume. Mark Hammil has _three_ characters to his credit. He was the Trickster in the TV Flash TV show, which is relevant to this, as he essentially reprised the role as ‘Cock-Knocker’ in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Of course, it was an in-joke. And more importantly, he was the Joker in Batman:The Animated Series, including two of the best Batman movies of all time: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Rumor has him in serious consideration for the Joker in the next Batman Begins. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/96 "2006-02-13T15:27:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Jeff Fenholt and Carl Anderson were good in Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was it for both of them. Jeff Fenholt has since become an Evangelic minister whose shtick is talkking about how he played Jesus Christ while boozin’ and doing drugs, but has now found the light. A friend who’s herself very religious that way loaned me a tape of one of his sermons. Very strange. I saw him on stage performing **Jesus Christ Superstar**. I think I even got his autograph at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/97 "2006-02-13T15:28:35Z")
There is also always Billy Bibbit from _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ (can’t recall the actors name.) He was excellent in that movie, but never became anything. I’ve seen him in a couple of bit parts in David Lynch films, and as the creepy dude keeping the King drugged in The Lord of the Rings, but essentially he’s just a minor character actor (and not turning in particularly impressive performances either.) And of course let us not forget the wonderful **Vincent Gallo** who after making _Buffalo '66_ went on to become famous only for being one of the true great detestible creeps in the movie business. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/98 "2006-02-13T15:31:03Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > There is also always Billy Bibbit from _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ (can’t recall the actors name.) He was excellent in that movie, but never became anything. I’ve seen him in a couple of bit parts in David Lynch films, and as the creepy dude keeping the King drugged in The Lord of the Rings, but essentially he’s just a minor character actor (and not turning in particularly impressive performances either.) Brad Dourif? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/99 "2006-02-13T15:31:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > …snip… > > Jeff Fenholt and Carl Anderson were good in Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was it for both of them. Good point, The entire cast of \*\*Godspell \*\* pretty much disappeared also. Lynn Thigpen went on to do lots of character work on TV, I saw her on Rosanne and a PBS kids show “where in the world is Carmen Sandiego” but no more movie roles that I recall. She was on Broadway a lot I think. The rest I never saw in anything. Someone let me know if I am wrong. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/100 "2006-02-13T15:32:05Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > O.K., for starters let’s go with \*\*Louise Fletcher \*\* of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Memorable to say the least and she won the freaking Oscar and then never was heard from again. I know she was in some bizarro horror, Martian-invasion film but her career never did materialize. At all. Well, Louise Fletcher has been in showbusiness since the 50s, so it was hardly a break-out and she’s still working. Granted, nothing as great as Nurse EvilPants, but still. > [@](#): > > Choices number two, the supporting roles from Ferris Beuller. Sloan and Cameron (I don’t even know their real names –(AND NO IMDB’ing IN THIS THREAD) looked both like up and comers. I don’t recall ever seeing the girl again though she did a great job with Matthew Broderick and I know that the guy who played Cameron –who was like 30 at the time, right?- also was in Twister and Speed but didn’t seem to rise to the next level. Cameron was working steadily on that Michael J. Fox show (the political one). Sloan has done some stuff, but no…she didn’t keep the momentum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057.md?page=6)